Snapshot
by Ambrosia Rush
Summary: Sometimes all it takes to change the course of someone's life is a honest smile and an open heart. A 'snapshot' of Deeks's childhood. One-shot.


**This is the full story behind the photograph from Chapter 13 of Exhale. It's not necessary to read Exhale to enjoy this one-shot. A snapshot of Deeks's childhood. **

::

The photograph had faded over time, the edges had the occasional tear, a fold here, a bend there. He smiled as he picked it up, now framed. It had a place on his book shelf also home to a few Steven King novels with worn spines, many law books, and the majority of his Marvel and DC graphic novels. There were other framed photographs on the shelf, but this one was perhaps his favourite, and most precious.

The photograph showed the little girl had russet red hair, fair skin and pale green eyes. Freckles spotted over her cheek bones, the bridge of her nose, and her shoulders that were showing in the little green swim suit she was sporting. In her hand was an ice cream cone, cotton candy flavoured. And she was handing it to him, in the image his hair was a pale flaxen blond it fell into his eyes curled around his ears, and hit the back of his neck. She had her arm extended ice cream in hand, a shy expression upon her face and he was looking back with a nervous, but curious expression upon his.

::

Martin Brandel's heart hammered in his chest as he ran. He'd nearly tripped on the front steps when he'd sprinted from the house, he kept running putting one foot in front of the other doing his best to ignore the ache in his lungs, the pain in his ribs. He knew without looking, knew from experience that his ribs would be an ugly purple if he pulled up his blue shirt.

After a few blocks he was unable to keep running so he slowed to a walk, constantly looking over his shoulder fearful his father would somehow catch up, a whisky bottle in hand and an angry expression on his face. He walked the rest of the way to the one place in the world that he felt safe.

_The beach_.

Tourists had their cameras around their necks. Locals were dressed in minimal swimwear. Big umbrella's protected young families. Towels laid out as young women tanned with romance novels in hand. Vendors lined the beaches and the scent of the hotdog cart reminded him of just how hungry he was.

He stopped for a second on the sidewalk to take off his shoes and socks. He shoved the socks in the pockets of his denim shorts. He carried the shoes in hand as he took his first steps out onto the sand and wiggled his toes in it. It didn't bring him the joy it usually did. The fear was still so fresh and he looked over his shoulder scanning the streets for any signs of his father. Letting out a sigh he started walking along the sand. He didn't worry too much about getting lost, he'd grown up hiding out on the beach, he knew it like the back of his father's hand.

Stopping for a second he dropped his shoes into the sand and turned to look out over the water. There was laughter, and smiling families. He wondered what it would be like to go to the beach with his Mom, his Dad if he wasn't so drunk all the time. He wondered what it was like to be a part of one of those happy, smiling families. Jealousy stung, the sadness swept over him as he stood there, feet planted in the sand.

And then there was her.

::

"Daddy," Delaney Bennett said as she squirmed. "I don't want to wear sun screen!"

"You have too," her father had replied with a hint of a smile. "Your skin is so fair, you'll burn up and look like a lobster." Her face pinched obviously not wanting to look like a lobster she stopped her squirming as her father lathered her in the protective cream. Her brother having already gone through the same treatment, but it didn't keep the young girl from pouting.

A flash and she blinked before rubbing her eyes. "Jax!" She whined. "Bright got in my eyes." She glared at her brother who was wearing their father's camera around his neck. He tried pressing the button again but nothing happened.

The father of the young fraternal twins shook his head. "Jackson, you have to wind the film, remember?"

Jax was a rather quite child and he simply nodded his head before winding the film.

"Daddy?" Delaney said as her father put the sun block away and the little girl did a dance of freedom in a circle. "Can we get ice cream?" She turned her big smile and bright eyes to her father.

He took her hand and stood back to his full height, the man was a giant standing at six foot six and bent slightly to keep hold of the young girl's hand. "That sounds like a good idea, what kind do you want?"

"Chocolate," she replied. "No," she shook her head immediately changing her mind. "Strawberry."

"You don't like strawberry," Jax reminded her looking over at her with their shared pale green eyes.

"Oh yeah," she said. "Hmm. I'll decide when we get there. I bet there are lots of kinds. Maybe a kind I've never had before. It'll be an ice cream adventure!" She skipped along with a big smile. "Jax, what are you getting?"

"Vanilla."

"You always get vanilla."

"Because it's the best kind," Jax responded.

"Nu-huh!" Delaney disagreed.

"Is so," Jax argued back.

"Don't start arguing you two," their father said giving them each a look and the twins both sighed.

Delaney jumped up and down in her excitement. "Look, look!" she pointed with her free hand. "Ice cream, that truck says ice cream!"

"Indeed it does," their father said as he lead them over. Jax got vanilla in a cone, Delaney kept sounding out the flavours slowly making her choice.

"Cotton candy!" She looked at her brother. "Look they have cotton candy!"

"Is that the one you want?" their father asked and Delaney nodded her head quickly. Paid for they started walking once more.

"My ice cream is pretty," Delaney said studying it. "It's pink and blue. I like pink and blue."

"It's going to drip," their father said to her, but she wasn't paying any attention.

She was staring over at the young boy, perhaps just a little older than her and her brother. He looked sad and Delaney frowned at the realization that he had wiped a tear from his eye. She pulled her hand from her father's grasp and walked over to the boy. She stopped a step away and he studied her nervously. She extended her arm, ice cream in hand and this time she didn't complain when she heard the click and felt the flash.

::

He had been watching them, the happy family moment. The father with two kids, Martin vaguely wondered where their mother was. The little girl seemed so happy, so excited about everything. He'd looked away, watched the beach not wanting to watch the happy children with their ice cream cones and kind father. He wiped away a tear he hadn't realized had fallen until it streaked down his cheek.

The bright green mixed with the red in his perhiperal vision had made him look back. The young girl had left her father and her brother and walked over to him, her untouched ice cream in hand. She stopped and they stared at each other. She stuck out her hand with her ice cream and shuffled her feet a little in the sand. There was a click, a flash but Martin hardly even noticed, he was too stunned by the actions of the young girl.

"I didn't lick it," she said quite seriously. "It's cotton candy," a smile. "Do you like cotton candy?"

Martin studied the girl, in his experience people weren't so nice, and strangers ignored you, they didn't start talking to you, especially not kids. He'd been victim to enough school ground bullies to be even be fearful of kids his own age. Still, she seemed too honestly kind for him to be suspicious of her. He nodded his head.

"Here," she said taking a little step forward. "You can have my ice cream. Then you'll be happy." She beamed at him, an infectious smile that had him smiling too. This seemed to make her even happier as she moved closer, getting over her shyness with him, she took his hand and put the ice cream in it. "Try it!" she told him and he looked at it wondering about taking things from strangers- his mother had told him not too, but she was so little, so happy, she wouldn't try to hurt him. He took a taste. "Is it good?" she inquired.

Martin nodded his head. "Thank you." This little girl, this perfect stranger showed him more kindness in that moment than his father had his entire life.

He had no idea that from that moment on, she'd become a constant in his life. Delaney Bennett would worm her way into his heart in that infectious manner she seemed to have been born with.

::

He put the photograph back on the mantel, it never failed to remind him of the powers of friendship and that sometimes all it takes to change the course of someone's life is a honest smile and an open heart.

::

**Hope you enjoyed it! Love and Light!**


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